Dexter Pearcy is starting his second season as head tennis coach for the Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs. Both squads have been practicing since late July and their official season opener is this week (Tuesday) at home against Fort Smith Northside. They will play Fort Smith Southside at Ben Geren Park on Thursday.
Anxious to get started, the players asked their coach to arrange some early action the first week of August, which he did, scheduling practice matches with Siloam Springs and at Rogers Heritage. “They were begging to play early on, so we played a couple of practice matches,” said Pearcy, who is still assisted by volunteer coach Dr. Ken Hamilton, who led the GHS tennis program for more than a quarter century, including numerous conference and state championships.
“Both of my [younger] brothers (Andrew and Austin) played for Coach Hamilton, actually,” said the elder Pearcy. “They were pretty good tennis players, but that’s not something I ever did. [But] Ken is still here and I’m still trying to learn from him. It’s an ongoing process. I trying to soak up the different nuances of the game. I’m always picking [his] brain. He’s been an unbelievable mentor to learn the game [from].”
Pearcy’s first season as head coach in 2020 was a challenge because it was a rebuilding year for Greenwood and it came in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic. Oddly enough, that describes the 2021 as well, with the School Board recently voting to require masks for all students and staff in the new school year.
But according to the young head coach, wearing masks again won’t really affect him or his kids. “No. It won’t change a whole lot,” he said, agreeing that his players grew accustomed to it last year. The policy also gives his students a better chance to remain in the classroom and on the court rather than face the higher risk of quarantine. Also, being an outdoor summertime sport, tennis is ideally suited for social distancing.
Back on the hard court, Pearcy lost a handful of key seniors to graduation, including senior boys Jonathan Mitchell and Zach Beshears, who reached the state semi-finals last fall. “We lost Jonathan and Zach from the boys’ team last year who were unbelievable players. That’s caused some of our younger guys to have to step up and fill that void.
“We lost three seniors on the guy’s side and one [senior] girl, [so] we’re still a pretty young team,” said the coach. There are four senior girls and only two senior boys on this year’s crowded roster with a lot of youth and potential. Altogether, Pearcy and Hamilton have nearly 40 players to chose from, 29 of them girls and 10 boys. That’s a big number for tennis, especially on the girls’ side.
“We’ve got really good numbers,” acknowledged Pearcy. “This is my third year to coach [tennis] and this is by far the biggest turnout we’ve had. It’s to the point that we’ve had to create a practice squad because we have so many kids. We have the varsity, a JV team, and a practice squad. Our ninth-grade turnout was incredible. We have 29 girls.”
Asked to account for the uptick in interest, especially in girls’ tennis, the coach credited the work of the tennis parents and the junior high program in the spring. He also allowed that it might just be a cyclical change.
“We’ve got a junior high program that is not affiliated with the school,” explained Pearcy. “It’s led by a parent and the parents do a great job of organizing that. Lisa Belue ran it [last spring].” The tennis program also has a Facebook page where all their team news and match scores are posted and updated.
For the Lady Bulldogs, 21 of their 29 players are freshmen or sophomores. But that fact hasn’t deterred Coach Pearcy’s optimism. “I think we’ve got a chance on the girls’ side to be significantly better than we were last year.”
The coach is counting on strong senior leadership on and off the court from returning players Rebecca Harris and Chase Hanna. Leah Hefflin and Kennedy Holland are also seniors.
As returning players with lots of experience, Pearcy expects Harris and Hanna to provide an example for others to follow. “They both had good years last year,” said the coach. “Rebecca was one of our top singles players.” Hanna took a year off from tennis as a sophomore and is still working her way back to top form, but is expected to be one of the team’s best players in 2021.
“Mackenzie Cannon and Lakyn Forester are two junior girls who will hopefully help our varsity team and help us do well in conference,” offered Pearcy. “We still haven’t figured out who is playing singles and who is playing doubles, but I’m sure those two [girls] will factor in some shape or form.”
There are a few other girls who have shown flashes of potential at a young age. “Bella king is a 10th grader who played well for us last year,” said the coach. “Harper Berg is a ninth grader who is very athletic. She has a very good foundational skill set, so she’s definitely going to factor in for us. Lydia Belue is a 10th grader and she’s also in the mix to help the varsity. She’s a good kid and works hard and has definitely grown as a tennis player since last year.”
As for the Bulldogs, the numbers aren’t as overwhelming, but are enough to meet the needs of the team. According to Pearcy, most other teams in the conference also have around 10 male players, obviously competing with football and golf in late summer and early fall for available athletes.
“Ten [players] is adequate,” said the coach. “It’s comparable to other teams. Ten is enough to fill out the team, for sure. We’ve got 10 boys with two seniors, James Scott and Alex Chanthavong.
“Scott is a first-year player, but Alex has been with us for a couple years and is incredibly dedicated. He’s at the tennis courts all the time and routinely shows up to practice an hour early. He’s a good kid and he’s got a little skill. He will definitely play varsity for us. He’s put in a lot of work and has become one of our more skilled players.”
The coach then turned his attention to his underclassmen. “Juniors Brendon Hoskyn and Grayson Vaughn played varsity for us last year,” he said. “Brendon played singles last year and did really well. He puts in a lot of extra work.
“[Sophomore] Stephen Schaefer has some skill. [Freshman] Eason Lin has taken [private] lessons from Coach Hamilton for three years, but he’s just never competed. It will take him a little while to get used to the competition.
One of the most successful and experienced tennis coaches in the state, Hamilton has an eye for talent and potential and believes this current crop of GHS players can succeed this year, despite their overall youth.
“He thinks we’ve got a chance to compete at the conference level and send some kids to state,” said Pearcy of his volunteer assistant and former boss. Pearcy served as an assistant coach in 2019, Hamilton’s last full season as head coach.
“On the girls’ side we’ve got some talent, and I think we’ve got some on the boys’ side [as well],” said Pearcy. “It’s just a matter of if we’ll be enough of a well-rounded team to score enough points to win conference.
“Comparatively speaking, it will look a little more like a rebuilding year, but just because of the vast success that previous [Greenwood] teams have had, not just competing for a conference championship, but for state championships. That might be tough for us this year, but [we’ll] definitely compete at the conference level and make a little noise at state. It will be a step forward from last year. We might be a little more well-rounded this year,” said the coach.
Asked about the top competition in the 5A West conference, Pearcy added, “I know Siloam Springs is going to have a good #1 boys’ player and #1 girls’ player. Mountain Home had a good team last year, but I’m not sure how many they graduated. Russellville is typically good and Van Buren will probably be one of the better teams. The conference tournament will be at Russellville. I’m not sure if they are going to split it between the high school and Arkansas Tech. The details haven’t yet been figured out.”
Despite their youth and inexperience and the threat of another Covid year, the Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs are gearing up for another solid season of tennis competition. Greenwood may not have any dominant players as in the past, but it will be fun and exciting to see the development of these young netters both this year and into the future as they make the transition from the old regime (Hamilton) to the new (Pearcy). Good luck to them all.